


Frustration

by Arkanna



Category: Legacy of Kain
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-07 22:41:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11068590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arkanna/pseuds/Arkanna
Summary: Impatience leads Kain to take a misstep.





	Frustration

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Legacy of Kain or any of its characters.

Kain crept quietly along the ruined corridor. The place was silent and seemed empty, nothing stirred yet he felt as if eyes were watching him. The Citadel was ancient and filled with secrets, knowledge of things past and prophecies yet to be fulfilled.

Something moved beneath his foot. Kain immediately jumped to the side, tense, waiting. After a few minutes and nothing happened he continued forward cautiously. If he had triggered some sort of trap nothing had come of it.

The corridor was long and winding. Eventually Kain threw caution to the wind and strode forward purposefully. He did not have time to waste worrying about senseless things. Without warning, the floor gave way and dropped him to a lower level.

He sat amidst the rubble for a moment and shook his head to clear the cobwebs, cursing his own stupidity. Returning to the previous floor was a simple matter, but before he could transform into a cloud of bats, the floor gave again and dropped him further into the darkness.

With a loud snarl and curse, he rose quickly, covered in dust and bits of crumbled stone. Before Kain could regain his footing, the floor collapsed yet again, plunging him deeper into the bowels of the Citadel. Slightly dazed, he glared at his surroundings and made a very disturbing discovery—something was blocking his magic. He could not teleport nor could he transform.

With an angry snarl he rose and took the Reaver in hand.

The passageway was narrow and grew even more so as he proceeded, eventually forcing him to sheath the sword and turn sideways. There was a sharp corner and suddenly he found himself in a small chamber.

There were two massive doors but little else. Above them were ancient words, but the script was one he did not know.

His entrance sent a strange pulse through the room and a thin mist began rising from the floor. Two figures slowly emerged. Kain realized they were only magical constructs in the form of the Ancients yet that did not improve his mood. They stood between him and the doors.

“One will answer only falsely, one will answer only truly. Speak but only once, ask, but only once may we answer. A question, singular, your only chance. Freedom or destruction. Veritas vos liberabit,” echoed through the chamber.

Kain growled, there was no doubt this was some sort of infernal puzzle. He was tempted to simply rip open the doors and see what lay beyond but he tempered his irritation and considered his dilemma.

Without magic he was forced to rely on his own logic and intelligence. He narrowed his eyes as he slowly circled the two figures. They were identical in every way, down to the very last detail. There was no hint there and none within the room unless the script above the doors was somehow important.

He thought on the words that had echoed through the chamber even as he circled the pair again. One spoke truly, one spoke falsely, yet there was no way of telling them apart. With only one question, he needed to be careful in its phrasing. Kain glared at the doors and narrowed his eyes thinking.

He did not have the time nor the patience and angrily slashed a claw at one of the two beings. It passed through the construct as if it were a ghost and Kain sighed pinching the bridge of his nose. His fit of pique had not accomplished anything.

There was no way back the narrow corridor he had just traversed, the upper floor had collapsed and filled the narrow passage with rubble. Without access to his magic or transformation, he could not simply fly or teleport—he would have to solve the riddle.

He snorted suddenly. It was ironic that he was being forced to solve this puzzle, even as he had oft watched Raziel and found himself commiserating with the wraith. The sour look that had passed over Raziel whenever confronted with those immense stone blocks no doubt graced his own face at that moment.

Kain moved to face the doors and the entities, his arms folded, drumming his talons against one bicep, frowning, eyes closed in concentration. _Veritas vos liberabit_ flowed through his thoughts. It was a clue, but there was more than one truth here—or was there?

He gave the room one last careful inspection before growling at the magical constructs. There were no other hints, he had all the clues and information that could be gleaned from the place. _Veritas_ he thought again and a wicked smile suddenly lit up his face as he addressed the left construct.

“If I were to ask the other one, which door leads to freedom, how would he respond?”

The being duly pointed to the door on the right then both suddenly disappeared in a bright flash.

Kain considered the answer carefully, then smirked and opened the left door. A swirling black and yellow portal appeared. With an irritated huff he stepped through.

There was a moment of severe vertigo. Kain had not felt that ill in centuries and cursed when he opened his eyes. He found himself in the main courtyard, a fading glyph glowing beneath his feet. With a snarl he shook his head and glared around balefully. He was free and his magic was his once more, but he was back where he had started.

Whether he had accidentally triggered some form of ancient defense or perhaps a trap, he did not know. Given the great age of the fortress, it was entirely possible the floor had simply crumbled beneath his feet. Whatever had happened, Kain was determined it would not occur again and with much greater caution, reentered the Citadel. He still could not shake the odd sensation of eyes watching him.

 


End file.
